long week | 2/28/25

Welcome to make you think, a newsletter about being alive in the endtimes. If you just signed up, welcome! You can find previous editions of the newsletter right here. If you know someone who might like this, click that little forward button and pass it along!

what a long freaking week. our content output at work has kicked up as part of a strategy shuffle so i've been on camera a lot more. as i get older (lol) this becomes more and more draining! i need to be a bit better at energy + emotional management moving forward so i'm less strung out by the time friday rolls around. i also dropped the piano class i started taking at glendale community college. i'm gonna talk more about it next week once i've had more time to get my ducks in a row, but i'm really chewing on what it means to quit. i know that quitting is sometimes good (especially in the service of self preservation) but the concept is so loaded with negativity that i can't help but have the voices in my head talk to me sideways. more on this next week, i promise!

in an effort to create my own salve (and hopefully provide one for you for A Week That Was Bad in the World), here's a few nice things from this week:

1. today's sunset

2. the octavia lab at the los angeles public library

i spent some time at the octavia lab this week, which is a makerspace embedded in the central library in downtown la. it's an incredible space – there are 3D printers, embroidery machines, mac pros, a podcast space, a photo studio, and classes on how to use all of it – all free with a library card. it is an incredible space that shows off the power of the library. i overheard a conversation that the library attendant was having where they were talking about how important it was these spaces remain free (because, if you can believe it, there are people in power who would prefer that they become profit generators). there is resistance and strength all around us and it doesn't always look like yelling at your congresspeople. it is sometimes more smaller and more local – but that shift in proximity is sometimes more impactful. go get a library card and use it! they are integral spaces and also have an incredible anthem.

3. live music

last night i went to a queer community building party/social thing that had a bunch of live music. it had everything you could want from one of these: tarot readings, a table from the fine folks at the trans defense fund, unbelievably dry white wine, hot people, and live music. the closing act was a musician named lemmons. with a loop pedal, a violin, and a ukelele they brought house down. i think there is something really special about intimate performances that connect us to art in ways that big stadium shows don't. my favorite song they performed isn't available online but my second favorite one is, and it's called taurus & orion. i hope it brings you as much warmth as it brought me yesterday.

have a great weekend. tell someone you love 'em.

catch y'all next week.

-

niki